Simone Campbell to deliver Bernardin Lecture Oct. 27

Sister Simone Campbell, a seasoned attorney, poet and religious leader, will deliver this year’s annual
Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Lecture on Moral, Ethical and Religious Studies on Oct.
27 at the University of South Carolina.

Campbell, who has lobbied on issues surrounding peace-building, immigration reform,
health care and economic justice, will present the lecture titled, “Bridge the Divides,
Transform Politics: A View from the Bus,” at 6 p.m. in the campus room of Capstone
House on Barnwell Street. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Campbell is the executive director of NETWORK, a nonprofit Catholic social justice
advocacy organization in Washington, D.C. Personal honors for her social justice work
include the “Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Award” and the “Defender of Democracy
Award” from the international Parliamentarians for Global Action.

Her work has been featured in national news and on television, ranging from the news
magazine “60 Minutes” to the satire of “The Colbert Report” and “The Daily Show with
Jon Stewart.” Her book, “A Nun on the Bus: How All of Us Can Create Hope, Change,
and Community,” details how communities can transform in positive ways through prayer.
Campbell has led three cross-country “Nuns on the Bus” tours, which focus on economic
justice, comprehensive immigration reform and voter turnout.

The Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Lecture was established in 1999 to honor the Columbia
native who attended UofSC and became a leader in the Roman Catholic Church. One of
the university’s premiere lectureships, it is sponsored by the College of Arts and
Sciences and its Department of Religious Studies.

Bernardin was ordained a priest in 1952 and, in 1966, was named auxiliary bishop of
Atlanta, thus becoming the youngest bishop in the country at that time. After serving
as secretary and as a member of the executive committee of the National Conference
of Catholic Bishops from 1968 to 77, he was named archbishop of Cincinnati. He later
was appointed archbishop of Chicago, and in 1983 was elected cardinal, an office he
held until his death in 1996.